I am a long time lurker who is finally posting a message here. The TPA and the Bank preparing our retirement plan 5500s both state that mutual funds should not be considered a "single issuance" of securities for purposes of completing Schedule H of our 5500 which asks about transactions in excess of 5% of plan assets. See Part IV line 4(j). A similar question arises for small plans for a 20% + concentration of plan assets in a single security. Our auditors disagree, stating that a single mutual fund is a "single issuance" of a security and state that the DOL agrees. The examples in the instructions refer to CDs and bond issuances. It seems to me that the 5500 is getting at diversification issues. Therefore, a concentration in a mutual fund should not trigger a "yes" response (arguably, you might have to "look through" the mutual fund investment to determine whether a combination of plan funds invest in a single stock or bond at a level that exceeds the 5%/20 threshold). In addition, mutual funds are RICs and are not "issued" in the same sense as a corporation's common stock is issued. I have caved on this issue for this year, but am wondering what others think on this point. Are you aware of any published authority on point?

I need help identifying major voluntary carriers offering product in NY, NJ, CT, MA, & RI. How can I get this information without going direct to the companies licenced in a particular state and asking if they offer voluntary product? Is there an easier way? Please help.

Thanks.

Does anyone file a From 5500 for a Non-qualified Deferred Compensation Plan (Restoration Plan) and if so what schedules should be attached? We have less than 100 participants.

We have a standard prototype 401(k) which will be terminating as the Company was purchased. Typically we do not file IRS 5310 for a standard prototype plan termination but do notify employees of the plan termination as well as explain distribution options, etc. The attorneys hired to handle sale of the Company now think they should file a 5310 for the 401(k)and, of course, want us to provide all the backup document information, etc. Do all of you apply for a determination when terminating a run of the mill plan? Thanks.

Client wants to rollover/transfer assets from a SEP into a 401(a) qualified plan. I'm getting the impression from research that this can't be done, but I can't get an exact cite that says "no" or "yes". Can it be done? If so or if not, please provide me with the cite.

Need some info on complete PTO plans. I'm in healthcare and have no idea where to start. We currently have personal time, sick bank, vacation, holiday and no short term disability. (We do have LTD after 90 days) 90 days is the cap for the sick bank. How would I handle the sick bank when implementing the pto plan??? Any suggestions, plans would be greatly appreciated.

Estate questions on IRA Distributions.

1) Can a spouse disclaim a portion of an IRA and/or a portion of a qualified plan distribution?

2) Do you have a suggestion for good reference materials on distributions from both an IRA and qualified plans for a 4 million dollar estate?

Individual is the sole employee/owner of a C Corp. He wants to establish a medical reimbursement account to "pick up" anything that his health insurance does not cover. He also wants this Plan to be "retroactive" for four months (back to when he incorporated). This will be funded entirely by "employer" contributions (no 125 Plan).

1) I assume the Plan cannot be retroactive because Prop. Reg. 1.125-1 Q&A 17 is applicable to all 105 Plans even those not funded through a 125 Plan. Do you agree?

2) If there is only 1 employee do I avoid any 105 discrimination issues?

3) Any other problems that you see here

I am looking for a benchmark study or report for various employee benefits outsourcers. Companies include Hewitt, Aon, Towers Perrin, etc. Does anyone know of any such report or at least a thorough comparison of the companies?

Thanks!

What constitutes a nonelective contribution in a 403(B) plan?

Does anyone have experience with self-directed brokerage accounts in non-qualified plans? Can they even have them?

We have a client who has both a Money Purchase Pension and Profit Sharing Plan. The president of the corporation would now like to drop out of the plans (no longer get contributions) but continue funding the plans for the remaining participants. Is this option allowed?

I'm trying to find more information on the "onerous" reporting, tracking and crediting requirements relating to employees' voluntary after-tax contributions to money purchase pension plans (or, I guess, anyy 401(m) plan). . . any suggestions on where to search (or a good resource)? Thanks!

A 401K participant "John Smith" dies and the beneficiary is a Testamentary Trust of John Smith. A distribution is requested. To the best of my knowledge, this distribution is not eligible for rollover as it is not to a spouse. Also such a distribution has 10% withholding. Does this make sense? Any help is appreciated

Are there any requirements to restate any type of 125 plan for GUST???

I have a client that set up a brokerage account under the name of the plan and the plan's federal identification number. I just found out from the client that the the owner of the company deposited some of her personal money into this account. How do I handle the comingled assets? This happened in 1999 and the 1999 employer contribution has already been made so I don't see how we could do any creative accounting.

In a safe harbor 401(k) plan, are there any additional restrictions on hardship distributions?

Can the plan provide for hardship distributions of deferrals in the same way as a "typical" 401(k) plan?

Can the plan provide for distribution due to hardship (under Rev. Rul. 71-224)of the safe harbor 3% nonelective contribution?

May a SEP-IRA holder receive an employer contribution to the SEP after age 70-1/2 if he/she is still employed?

Lets say you have a 401(k) plan with a year-end payout policy for terminated participants. At the end of any given year, there are a few terminated participants who have not been paid. Some have been gone for a couple years. Would you put them on an SSA? We typically don't. Although the instructions don't give me any authority to elect not to file, I am more concerned about what could happen if we forget to "un-SSA" the participant when he is paid later. Let's say he's 35 when he terminates and you put him on an SSA. He is paid three years later and is not removed from the SSA. Then 27 years later, he receives a notice that he has a deferred vested benefit and comes looking for it. The client has switched providers four times since then and doesn't have proof that the guy was paid already. Now what? I'd rather explain to an IRS agent that we didn't feel an SSA was necessary than deal with a much bigger problem years down the road. Am I alone in this thinking?

We are currently operating on v4.1 and know we need to update to 5.0, then 6.0 but don't know where to start. We will be getting some advice from support, but wanted to ask the users if there is any "better" way to do this. We have annual plans so last year (PYE 09/30)when the 5.0 conversion was experiencing so many problems with the customized reports - we decided to wait until our year end processing was complete. We should have done something over the summer, but did not. Now we are at another year end and cannot afford to get tied up reprogramming all our customized reports. We have not prepared our system with any conversion type readiness so any detailed advice would be helpful.